All articles tagged with #voting rights
A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a setback to the Trump administration’s plan to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting for the November midterms, noting that the legal fight over the executive order barring USPS from sending mail-in ballots to certain voters is ongoing and not yet resolved.
A federal judge blocked Ohio from requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, saying the state’s rules exceed the National Voter Registration Act’s minimum information and that registering at the DMV when approved for a license also violates the NVRA; Ohio plans to appeal, a decision seen as helping Democrats ahead of the midterms.
A federal judge blocked Ohio’s proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration, barring the DMV from requiring citizenship documents to offer voter registration (the ruling does not apply to applicants who say they are not citizens). Secretary of State Frank LaRose criticized the decision and said he will pursue an immediate appeal, citing a Franklin County case as evidence the process is flawed. The ruling follows other recent legal challenges around documentary proof of citizenship in elections.
The Supreme Court ruled that a challenge to Trump’s March executive order on mail ballots was premature, allowing the Citizenship-list component managed by DHS to proceed while leaving the USPS mechanics—such as ballot 'manifests', standardized envelopes, and barcodes—blocked by a separate federal court ruling. The decision is procedural, not a ruling on legality, meaning the core USPS changes could be revisited before the midterms. USPS has signaled it won’t implement the rule without court approval, and ongoing lawsuits and a Massachusetts judge’s orders mean the policy remains in flux as states prepare for the election, with the Purcell principle potentially limiting last-minute changes. The outcome remains uncertain and could be decided again by the courts in the coming days.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, allowed federal agencies to proceed with parts of President Trump’s plan to regulate mail ballots (including lists of eligible voters and tighter processing) while leaving the merits of the rules to be decided in future litigation; California and other states vow to sue to block implementation before the November election, and the ruling does not compel states to use the Homeland Security lists or finalize the legality of the changes.
The California Supreme Court heard arguments in a case over Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of ballots during an investigation, with proponents saying the ballots were proper custodial evidence for the court and opponents arguing the move could threaten voting integrity; UCLA and state officials, led by Xavier Becerra, are seeking to halt Bianco's efforts, reflecting broader national debates over election security and voting rights.
The Supreme Court allowed President Trump’s executive order aimed at overhauling mail-in ballots to proceed, ruling that states lack standing to challenge an internal directive and saying it could cause irreparable harm to the administration, while leaving unresolved questions about the order’s authority and its impact on the upcoming elections; three liberal justices dissented, and related lower-court rulings still loom over the broader legal battle.
Pete Buttigieg visited South Carolina for a hands-on, retail-style push to test support for a possible 2028 White House bid, meeting voters and local officials in Orangeburg and framing his message around kitchen-table economics and democratic reform. He emphasized the link between economic concerns and a functioning political system while warning that efforts to weaken the Voting Rights Act threaten Black political power. The trip reflects a broader Democratic effort to cultivate support in early states as multiple potential candidates, including Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear and Ro Khanna, weigh the field for 2028.
USPS released a 95-page draft to curb mail-in ballots, requiring states to share voter records and redesign ballot envelopes with barcodes to track materials; the rules could take effect if a court injunction is lifted, but have been blocked by judges who say the policy oversteps into election administration—sparking claims of federal overreach and potential voter suppression. Supporters say the changes would improve efficiency and compliance with federal law, while critics note that election fraud is exceedingly rare and warn the move could undermine access to ballots ahead of the midterms.
The USPS plans to publish a final rule that would force states to share voter lists with federal agencies and adopt stricter mail-ballot procedures, including a Federal Ballot Mail Portal to verify ballots, with the agency saying it would stop delivering ballots if states don’t comply. Two federal injunctions in California and Massachusetts currently block the changes, even as the administration has sued about 30 states for withholding voter data. The rule ties to a March executive order aimed at restricting mail voting, and officials say changes could take effect if injunctions are lifted. Public comments on the proposal exceeded 200,000, and Trump has publicly supported tighter mail-voting rules while himself voting by mail in a Florida primary this year.
Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who scored a surprise Democratic Senate primary win, says she isn’t a socialist despite joining the Democratic Socialists of America, emphasizing housing, Medicare for All and unions while distancing herself from DSA orthodoxy on issues like prison abolition and open borders; she owns a bookstore, will campaign with both progressives and moderates, and won without major endorsements from DSA or Sanders (though Sanders backed her after the win). The national DSA was blindsided by her victory, and Nixon’s Gaza ceasefire stance and voting-rights advocacy illustrate a left-leaning record in a state wary of socialism, as she prepares to face Republican Ashley Moody in November.
At a North Carolina State Board of Elections meeting, a Anson County GOP member urged ending Sunday early voting, citing Chick-fil-A's Sunday hours, which sparked a broader debate about religion and voting access. Democrats argued Sunday voting is crucial for many Black voters who combine church attendance with voting. Despite public pleas, the board approved local plans to cut Sunday voting in multiple counties, with Chatham County deciding to end Sunday voting for November's election.
The Justice Department plans to dispatch about 1,000 monitors to polling places this fall — likely the largest number under a Republican president — to ensure election laws are followed and voters’ rights are protected; Democrats have raised concerns about potential interference, but monitors have historically behaved professionally, focusing on jurisdictions rather than personnel.
The Justice Department plans to deploy roughly 1,000 election monitors nationwide for the upcoming midterms, according to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. The monitors would observe polling places to ensure compliance with federal voting laws, with focus on language access and disability accommodations, while not running elections. Dhillon noted the department could take its efforts to the Supreme Court to obtain unredacted statewide voter-roll data, following repeated court losses on its attempts to compel such disclosures. She alleged that two-thirds of states aren’t cooperating and that cooperators have identified hundreds of thousands of dead people and tens of thousands of noncitizens on voter rolls, though she did not provide evidence. The monitoring program is part of an ongoing DOJ election-security effort, and the department expects to draw personnel from across the agency to fill the roughly 1,000 roles.
The Democratic National Committee approved a revamped 2028 presidential primary calendar designed to boost racially diverse states, kicking off with South Carolina on Jan. 22 and cycling through Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia in six weeks, a move that challenges Iowa and New Hampshire’s traditional early role and could reshape how candidates build coalitions.